Search the Dam Incident Database

The ASDSO Dam Incident Database provides basic information on dam safety incidents in the U.S.  The database is not considered comprehensive of all dam safety incidents, both historic and current, and reflects only the data that ASDSO has been able to collect. 

In 2010, ASDSO began to gather dam safety incident information (both failure and non-failure) from the state dam safety programs.  This database has some information from federal dam owning or regulating agencies but, again, this is not complete. Much of the identifying information on specific dams is obtained from the National Inventory of Dams. ASDSO does not provide assurance that all the information in the database is completely accurate. If you see an error or have additional information to provide for a specific incident, please contact Paige Spragens at [email protected]. If you would like to provide additional incident information to the database, please contact Paige. ASDSO has a spreadsheet (download at this link) that provides an explanation of each field and can be used as an entry form to submit incident information.

 

Dam Name State Downstream Hazard Potential Incident Type Incident Date Incident Driver Incident Mechanism 1 Incident Mechanism 2 Incident Mechanism 3 Incident ID Incident Description Named Hydrologic Event EAP Enacted Fatalities Number of People Evacuated Habitable Structures Evacuated Habitable Structures Flooded Other Infrastructure Impacts Economic Damages Response Volume Released Additional Remarks Owner Type Dam Type Primary Purposes EAP Dam Height Max Storage Surface Area Year Completed NID Number River Name Latitude Longitude Year Modified Regulatory Agency Incident Time Incident Duration Incident Report Produced Information Sources Attachments

 

Using the Database: 

The following search table allows the user to view, search and select records of the ASDSO Dam Incident Database. The columns represent a few of the fields of the database that contain what can be considered the major incident fields. They can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the arrows next to the field name at the top. To see more information on an incident without leaving the search table click on the blue “+ sign” at the left of an incident row. You can then click on the red “- sign” to collapse the additional fields. To go to an individual incident page, click on the dam name. Users can filter search results by each field using the search criteria boxes at the top of the page. Multiple filters can be applied. Some fields have fixed possible entries and those are presented in the search box as a drop-down selection. Users can also download a CSV (Microsoft Excel) version of their search by clicking on the “Export Table to CSV” link. To download the entire database, click on “Reset All Filters” and then “Export Table to CSV.”

  • If a field is empty, that indicates that there is no value for that field in that particular record.
  • There are a few incident records with an incident date in the 1800s. When downloaded to CSV, those dates become "General" format instead of "Date" format which can impact sorting and searches in the Incident Date field in the CSV file.
  • A few incident records have reports and photos, etc. associated with them. In the individual record page there is a field named "Attachments" and if it has a value of "Y" then there is some associated attachment. Contact Paige Spragens if you are interested in more information on that record.
  • ASDSO does not become aware of many incidents until states report them in an annual performance data call. As a result, incidents from the current year and even some from the previous year will not yet be in the database. Incident information is not necessarily entered in chronological order. Data is entered as it is received and as time permits; some more recent incidents may be included before older incidents. The database was last updated on January 6, 2025.